No ifs or buts, EC's No 1 and No 2 must go

Kairos: The PM's proposal to reform the Election Commission (EC) by putting it under the purview of Parliament is at best a cosmetic move. There is no genuine political will in it to want to reform for the better.

As it only needs a simple majority to change the existing demarcations, the outcome of the review weighs heavily in favour of the ruling coalition and the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

As it has been so far in the track record of our PM, there is a lot of spin but no substance in what he says. The right-thinking rakyat of Middle Malaysia are very wary of this chameleon that changes his colours to camouflage himself.

As the saying goes, trust like a mirror, once broken, is hard to put back together. In order to win back that trust of the people, PM Najib Razak has to do better than this. Perhaps, setting up a royal commission to reform the EC would the right thing to do.

Quigonbond: Whether it is an RCI or a parliamentary oversight committee, the EC head and deputy head must first go.

They have disappointed Malaysians too many times. If BN keeps them, it is as clear a sign as any that BN is all for corruption in the electoral process.

Hplooi: In my opinion, any member of the EC management remotely involved in election within the last 10 years (within the administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad) do not have any moral right to get involved or give advice, especially former EC chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman. They are as much responsible for the mess as the current batch.

Headhunter: Abdul Rashid's statement goes to show he and the rest of the EC was under the thumb of Najib when he was the EC chief. Only now that he's retired would he dare to make such positive comments in line with most of our thinking.

And yes, nothing short of a royal commission is going to fix the current problems plaguing the EC which is nothing more than an Umno hired goons. And yes, the current EC chief and his deputy have to go before Najib can talk about changes in any form.

The two might as well proudly carry their Umno membership card proudly the way they carry on by being blind and deaf to all complaints.

Pronto: A man on the job for 27 years must be well-versed in EC. The new EC chief and deputy were one time his student who must have learned a lot of tricks from him or they are better than him as proven in the last GE13.

He himself has no confident in the new oversight committee which mean all this while all the committees set up were actually not effective at all. They will continue to manipulate the system.

Is RCI going to be effective when we had two RCIs where their recommendations were not followed to date - one on the PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) and another on judiciary. It look like we need more than RCI to implement things.

GusDur: The rakyat would like to hear more from Abdul Rashid. Why not he start by listing down past EC wrongdoings that the rakyat are not aware of, and then provide full suggestions as to how the election should be conducted?

At least, it will show his honesty and sincerity. Not to worry, the rakyat will forgive him of his past mistakes, if any.

Bystander: Just a bi-partisan oversight committee for the EC is not going to resolve these perennial problems of unfair rules and cheating in general elections.

For once, the ex-EC chief is right: a royal commission is the only workable solution. Anything less is just a smokescreen and a waste of time and money.

LLfly: Even a royal commission may be ineffective if the terms are too narrow, as in the RCI on Project IC.

Or, if the recommendations are blatantly ignored, as in the Teoh Beng Huat RCI and the one which called for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The Reaper: Is the government serious about making changes? If so, then let Bersih be the independent body to handle this matter.

Toffeesturn: First I think we need a group of external auditors who can come in to verify the validity of our last GE amidst numerous allegations of cheating and vote-rigging.

An external body comprising officers appointed by the United Nations has a duty here, since it was the UN that sponsored the commission to conduct the referendum regarding the wishes of the East Malaysians to join Malaysia.

They were promised heaven on earth only to be cheated by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who ignored all the promises and reneged on almost every one of them, including bringing in illegal voters.

Yes, I agree with the former EC chief that a royal commission is warranted, and its findings and recommendations must be implemented.

Ksn: Abdul Rashid has two very important recommendations for Najib. One, any reform must be comprehensive enough to have any effect on the EC.

Two,the EC must come under the Parliament, be responsible and answerable to it. To add to Abdul Rashid's views, appoint good, capable, independent people to the EC.

The present ones must go. Let the EC work without interference from the government, and free it from the clutches of the executive.

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